Australian first: gay marriage register for South Sydney

South Sydney Council has become the first Australian council to officially recognise same-sex relationships by approving a register for gay couples.

The council's nine members last night voted 7-2 in favour of the register.

Deputy mayor Peter Furness said he hoped it would bring equality to same-sex couples.

He said the register would help gay couples prove their relationship had legal standing, however it would not have any legal status.

"When you marry, an automatic consequence of that is a registry on the Births, Deaths and Marriages (list) but same-sex relationships are defined differently," Cr Furness told ABC radio.

He said applicants to the register would have to prove their age, residency or connection with the council and that they were not currently registered or married.

There would be a minimum period of eight weeks after applying before the registration occurred, he said.

Of the nine councillors who voted on the controversial register, independents John Fowler and John Bush were the only dissenting voices, Cr Furness said.

"The register, strictly speaking, won't have any legal status - there's no provision in any federal or state law for any such register, but certainly it will have legal consequences," he said.

"People in same-sex relationships are frequently required to provide evidence of their relationship for purposes of immigration ... and certainly when a breakdown in a relationship occurs, evidence of that relationship is required and this register will provide that evidence," he said.

A spokeswoman for South Sydney Council said it was the first council to introduce such a register of same-sex relationships.